Memphis defense has knocked Kevin Durant from his moorings

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Joey Crawford came sprinting at Kevin Durant, blowing a whistle and waving arms and the bright lights of Chesapeake Arena shining off Crawford’s bald head, and Durant surely must have thought only one thing.

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant has his shot blocked by Memphis' Courtney Lee, left, as Marc Gasol, right, and Tony Allen give chase during Game 5 on Tuesday at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Durant and the Thunder are now on the brink of elimination after a 100-99 overtime loss.
Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

No sanctuary even at the foul line. Even with the clock stopped, Tony Allen sends a demon to bedevil the NBA’s presumptive most valuable player.

Allen is inside Durant’s head. Durant is dazed and confused. Hesitant and docile. The Memphis Doberman has turned Durant into mere mortal this Western Conference playoff series. The Thunder is on the brink of elimination, and if Durant doesn’t return to something approaching the Slim Reaper in Game 6 Thursday night, Grim Sleeper is going to be more like it.

Durant has made just 40 percent of his shots against the Grizzlies. Allen’s been in Durant’s sneakers. Meets him at the bus and tucks him in at night. Then haunts Durant’s dreams.

Don’t believe it? Durant is so out of sorts, he’s not making hay even when Allen is on the bench charming teammates with his mercurial ways. The last two games, Durant has made just eight of 20 shots with Allen not in the game. Durant is so out of sorts, his foul shooting is mediocre — 28 of 39, a .718 percentage that is below NBA journeyman standards, much less Durant’s own .882 career percentage.

Durant went to the foul line three times – and made just one of two on all three trips, including a miss after Crawford’s interruption, when the Thunder trailed 100-99 with 27.5 seconds left in overtime, a score that held up at the end. For six years, Durant has shot foul shots on a string. Mister Automatic. Now he’s unreliable.

All because the mighty Memphis defense, led by Allen, has knocked Durant from his moorings.

“Obviously we’re trying to make his catches tough, and if we could make it so he never got to touch the ball, I certainly would,” Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. “Our guys did a good job, not just the guys who were guarding him, but the guys who were supporting the guys who were guarding him.”

Durant was not available for interviews Wednesday but said after the game Tuesday, “I just gotta stay disciplined in my shots and knock them down. Stay aggressive and stay positive.”

Trouble is, Durant’s aggression and positive attitude come and go. His shoulders have dipped repeatedly during rough stretches of this streetfight. His effort is spotty. His confidence is shaken.

That’s not appropriate for a 25-year-old superstar. A 21-year-old star? Sure. When Durant made just 35 percent of his shots in that six-game Laker series in 2010, we knew it was growing pains. Knew that Durant was being hounded by Ron Artest, the Tony Allen of yesteryear, a guy who sold out to defense and could stage Les’ Miserables for even the sharpest of shooters.

MORE FROM NEWSOK

Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and columnist. Tramel grew up reading four daily newspapers — The Oklahoman,...